These Memories
by Evil Towel
Summary: When Shikamaru disappears, life for Chouji will never be the same. Snapshot series: tiny chapters covering a flow of events. ShikaChou Friendship, nothing more. Completed!
1. Before All Things

For the record, I have nothing against yaoi. I think it's cute. :) But this story just didn't work out that way.

I also apologize for the length of things. I'm normally a much longer writer, but again, this story just didn't work that way. Sixteen tiny stories, somehow covering a time in the life of two ninjas, somehow managing to be only sixteen pages long. To make up for it, I'll try to update daily until the series is complete.

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :

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Before All Things  
_Memories are the hardest to let go.  
_These Memories; Part I

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Chouji set the lamp down on the dusty floor. How long had it been since he'd last been up here?

Tenderly he brushed the dust and cobwebs off the small box in front of him. Freed from its dusty cover, the familiar carved symbol of the Leaf stared back at him from the wooden lid. Chouji gently removed it and set it aside.

There wasn't much inside. An empty spool of thread used to sew up rips and tears…a piece of stained glass from that window the kunai had gone through…a tiny wooden turtle that Naruto said _had_ to go in there because it was just like Shikamaru.

Slow. Could be called lazy. Steady. Loyal to a fault. Proud, though he'd never admitted it, to wear that "useless piece of metal" around his arm.

His forehead protector was the first thing in the box, reminding Chouji that before all other things, Shikamaru had been a ninja of the leaf.

Chouji missed him so much.


	2. I Had A Name

**Arashi-chan: **((huggles)) It's alright, Arashi-chan. You know how everything works out. .  
**Saico**: 'spose you'll just have to read to find out, ne?  
**shadowcat241: **Really? He's mine, too! Enjoy the rest!  
**Happiness's Deceit: **Thank you! Enjoy the rest!

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember/ Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :_

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I Had A Name  
_Knowing you used to know is the worst._  
These Memories; Part II

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If he tried really hard, he could remember. He could remember snatches of a place not this desert hell, where people smiled and joked and all the faces looked different, not stricken with the same monotone pain like here. In that place, there were buildings—many of them, large and small and made of wood or marble instead of one kind of bland, boring stone. There were people everywhere wearing rectangular bits of often-chipped metal on foreheads, around necks or waists. Most of the older people wore vests like the one he'd had before it had been taken away from him.

If he tried really, really hard, he could remember faces—a blond girl, a tall man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and a boy with twin tufts of hair and random swirls on each cheek. His face was the easiest to remember—that smiling, plump face.

The people who owned this place said they'd found him washed up by the river, half-drowned. He had amnesia, they said, and he'd better stay with them for a while. They'd asked him his name. In alarm he'd realized he couldn't remember. So in the standard order of things, they simply called him Number Twenty-Eight: as degrading a "name" as one could get.

Somehow he knew that if he could just remember his name, everything would fall into place.

If only he knew his name.


	3. I Think It Left Me Long Ago

**Arashi-chan: **. . . it's okay, Arashi-chan. ((huggles again)) It's not _that_ sad...  
**Yuki KIKI: **Thank you! I know it's short...I tried to make it longer, really I did, but I don't think it worked as well. Besides, there are going to be sixteen chapters...which, if you cram them all together, would make a rather long one-shot. I just felt like splitting it up because the titles flowed so well. n.n Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review, though! It didn't come across like a flame at all. Constructive criticism, I say. Yay!  
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These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember/ Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :_

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I Think It Left Me Long Ago  
_It could have happened yesterday, for all he remembered.  
_These Memories; Part III  
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It couldn't have been that long ago. One week? Two? Maybe a few months?

Time had slipped past him again. Chouji simply didn't keep track of anything anymore, because nothing was really worth it. This happened, that happened, and somehow, life went on.

People asked him if he's okay. Sure he's okay—does he not look okay?

Why should he, when Shikamaru had left him so long ago?


	4. Why Can't I Remember?

**Kawaii Kitsune Club: **I know it's short, but it just _did not work _with longer chapters.Heartfelt apologies, minna-san!

Please bear with me, everyone, I promise that they get longer, even if it's only a little bit! None of them will ever be as short as Chapter Three.  
Missed yesterday's update; have two chappies as an apology. They're so short, anyway.

* * *

**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember/ Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :_

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Why Can't I Remember?  
_No matter how hard he tried, it still slipped away from him.  
_These Memories; Part IV

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He was forgetting again.

Maybe it was because the food had run out. His captors—that was definitely the name for them—seemed to think that one pot of gruelly mush was enough to feed twenty-nine hungry children and teenagers. Twenty-eight, he reminded himself—Twenty-Nine had died yesterday.

He was still forgetting. The buildings and most of the faces in his mind had long since faded away. The blonde-haired girl—she had been blonde, right? —had disappeared today. All that remained was the chubby, swirly-cheeked boy, and he clung to that one scrap of memory desperately as the only thing that still belonged to him.

Was amnesia supposed to last this long? Was he supposed to forget everything else that was precious to him?

Why couldn't he remember?


	5. Today I Have Another Chance

(Review o kudosai?)

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember/ Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :

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Today I Have Another Chance  
_Promises are meant to be kept.  
_These Memories; Part V

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Missions went on, too. Without Shikamaru they were back to a three-man-team with him, Asuma, and Ino. They managed, somehow, but it wasn't the same.

On their first mission after the fact, Chouji had visited the box in the attic again. And he'd made a promise to Shikamaru—wherever he was.

"Today we're going on another mission. ...I wish you could be here.

"Today I had another chance to do something right.

"Today I have another chance to be more like you, Shikamaru.

"Wish me luck."


	6. To Step Out

...is it really not worth reviewing...?

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :

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To Step Out  
_Stepping out can sometimes do more harm than good.  
_These Memories; Part VI

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Today they'd left the prison for the first time. He, being last in number, was last in line. He wasn't too surprised when their captors had shackled their hands to their hands along a big running line. He was rather too tired to care. 

He hadn't known their "prison" (that was the best way to refer to it) was in the center of a town: no noise filtered through the thick fortress walls. If he glanced back he'd see the building his captors called "home" rising up as a stern backdrop, with its walls of stone and iron gates that before today had never seemed to open.

The townsfolk amazingly didn't stare at them. He couldn't understand why—they probably all looked a sorry sight. Bone-thin, covered in dirt and grime, their clothes pitiful rags about them. Maybe the townsfolk were used to this.

Some instinct deep down kept him from meekly plodding forwards like the rest of his twenty-seven companions. His eyes restlessly shifted through the crowd, their surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary—and, some inner part of him prompted urgently, some way to escape.

It was during this restless scanning that his eyes landed on three people, about which the mass of people seemed to simply flow around. He saw them in a sort of clear haze as their captive line stumbled forwards on the opposite side of the street. His world narrowed only to them, and he halted for a moment, the chain on his hands jerking him forwards another half step before the person in front of him stopped, too.

He didn't notice, because the strangers—they had to be strangers in this town—had noticed them, and his three-person view narrowed to one as the boy on the end, a boy with a bag of chips in hand and two tufts of hair and twin swirls on his plump cheeks, stopped short to stare at him in disbelief.

The name snapped into his head like lightning, and he cried it out desperately.

"_Chouji!"_

There was a vague pulse behind his ear and suddenly his one-person world was a mass of electricity and excruciating pain.

Chouji and the girl next to him had moved forwards, their lips moving in a four-syllable cry as the taller man grabbed them and held them back. He couldn't hear them. Sparks danced on the edge of his vision as some vague part of him connected that with the smell of burning flesh and told him he was being electrocuted.

The world went black.


	7. I Will Not Rest

**Yuki KIKI: **No, no, it's fine! I didn't mean to snap. Thank you very very much for sticking with it--and putting it on your faves! I love you! ((glomp))

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember/ Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :_

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I Will Not Rest  
_While caution may save your life, it may take another's._  
These Memories; Part VII

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He was alive. 

Shikamaru was _alive_.

"He was so thin!" Ino repeated, in shock, "I could almost count his ribs!"

"Yes, and he obviously wasn't in much better condition than those others with him." Asuma frowned, chewing on his cigarette.

"What did they do to him!" Chouji was frowning, too. "One second he's all fine—" (Or as fine as fine could be given the apparent circumstances.) "—and the next there's blue electricity snapping all over him and he's bleeding and—" _And he's on the ground screaming, _his mind finished. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"We have to rescue him!" Ino cut in determinedly.

"Not just yet." Asuma held up his hand for peace as his students protested loudly. "I didn't like the look of things anymore than you, but we must return to Konoha and report this situation to the Hokage. The group of kids he was chained to—it looked far too much like a group of slaves being led to auction to me."

"_Slaves!" _exclaimed Chouji.

"_Auction!" _exclaimed Ino.

Asuma nodded gravely. "The sooner we get back to report the sooner we can help Shikamaru. This may be out of our league." He looked at both of them firmly.

"We will not rest until we get our teammate back."


	8. Until I Know

**bakusensei: **Don't worry, it all gets resolved...  
**utoto: **Thank you for coming out of your shell and reviewing! It really means a lot to me, and I'm so glad you liked it! I hope the next few chapters are to your satisfaction as well. (Geez that sounds formal...)

**UBER-SPECIAL REQUEST: **If anyone wants to make a doujinshi (or any sort of fanart) out of this...go right ahead and email me! I'll love you forever!

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :

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Until I Know  
_Being alone provides much time to think.  
_These Memories: Part VIII

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The supplies that came from the products of his old group finally arrived, because everyone he'd been imprisoned with was gone. 

There were new blankets for everyone. There was enough food to at least keep the new ones quiet, and to trick them into thinking this new life of theirs was going to be alright. He knew better.

There was nothing new for Number Twenty-Eight.

He didn't care. Being the only one from the previous group to have not been sold, he was practically a myth to the new would-be-slaves. Nobody was truly sure Number Twenty-Eight existed...well, that was stupid. If they'd just bothered to _look_ through the grate in the corner of the courtyard, they'd know. But their captors strongly urged them not to, not to do anything out of hand or they might end up like Number Twenty-Eight, and so he was still alone.

He lay on his back, staring through the grating that provided the only light in this pit. It was barely large enough for him to sit against one wall and stretch his legs out—if he flexed his feet his toes would touch the opposite wall. The ceiling was horrendously far away, the rusted grating directly in the center, so when the sun was directly overhead his little cell was awash with light.

The plump boy was gone from his memories now. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. If the light came in through the grating just right, it made shadows, and if he placed his hands just the right way, he could play with them, make them move and dance and change shape.

That part of him that always seemed to be looking out for his well-being made him wonder why he could play with shadows. It was the same part that asked him why there was nothing in his head to remember. It was the same part that told him there _was_ something out there for him, if he could only get out and to it.

_But how_? He wondered, staring up at the ceiling so far away like everything else. _And what if I do get out—what then?_

His empty mind told him to trust his gut. His gut instinct deferred to his heart.

His heart said it didn't know.


	9. What It All Means

**Yuki KIKI: **XD Not sick at all! It makes perfect sense! That's actually the way I viewed it when I wrote it...he's so innocent it makes me just want to huggle him and take all his pain away. But that's Chouji's job. ;)

**GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT: **On Sunday I'm going to be heading up to Canada for the Fourth of July. Daily updates will either cease until I return on Tuesday or I'll get Arashi to do them for me. 

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :

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What It All Means  
_There is no greater danger than that of worrying.  
_These Memories; Part IX

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The Hokage had forbidden them to go. 

The mission had been classified as A-class, meaning it was the ANBU who got to handle it. Naturally, A-class missions were supposed to be kept top-secret, which meant Chouji and Ino and Asuma, being the ones to report it, had to keep their mouths shut. Chouji didn't find it as hard as Ino did. He went to Shikamaru's favorite cloud-watching spot on that grassy hill, and watched the white puffs float lazily along for a while.

He wasn't really surprised he hadn't been able to go, but it hurt all the same. Chouji knew Shikamaru better than anybody, except maybe his parents. He knew Shikamaru liked to watch clouds because it was quiet and an easy way to relax. Shikamaru did his best thinking when it was quiet, and he was alone and not required to think.

Chouji's way to relax was to eat. He dug into the bag of chips once more and chewed ferociously. Being a ninja was hard work. First you lose your best friend, then your best friend comes back to life but in terrible condition, and then you have to sit back and let someone else who doesn't know him half as well as you do go and be in complete control of his life.

There was no greater danger than that of worrying, Chouji decided, and ate some more chips.

But somehow he wasn't content. Having to trust people he didn't know, even if they were some of the best Konoha had to offer, with his friend's life didn't make him feel any better.

Shikamaru'd always looked out for him before.

Did it hurt because Chouji couldn't be there for him now?

What did it all mean?


	10. I Will Not Give In

**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

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I Will Not Give In  
_Determination can you take farther than anything else.  
_These Memories; Part X

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It was raining again. 

When it rained, Number Twenty-Eight got wet because nobody bothered to cover the grating that looked into his tiny cell. His hair dripped into his face; the band had snapped long ago. His stomach growled pitifully; when was the last time they'd thrown anything down here? Last week? He was sure he'd been forgotten, like his memories. Unlike them, though, nobody cared enough to try and bring him back.

His head throbbed painfully; he pulled his thin knees to his chest to lay his head on them and close his eyes. He was a little warmer like this—not much, but a little.

He didn't remember where he was anymore. Maybe he'd always been here, cold, hungry, and alone. The instinct in his mind was the only thing that remained of what had to be his old self. It marveled that he was still alive.

_Sheer force of will_, he told it, shivering uncontrollably as a blast of cold wind ricocheted about the pit,_ I don't know what I'm hanging on for, but I will not give in._

"Nara Shikamaru?" said a voice from above. He glanced up, squinting in the dark at the worried face peering down.

He answered.

"Who?"


	11. Until I Have You Back

**MommyRogers: **Thank you for that wonderfully worded review! Reviews like yours are what keep the writers going. ;)

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

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Until I Have You Back  
_The only thing worse than worrying is waiting.  
_These Memories; Part XI

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The days passed. There was still no sign of the ANBU squad. Chouji gave up waiting by the gate every morning from dawn till dusk; there was never any news. Instead he retreated to his room and tried to keep himself busy until Shikamaru came back. First it was cleaning. Then it was eating everything he could get his hands on in a nervous frenzy. After that it was learning to knit and knitting Shikamaru a scarf. 

…yes, he knew it was random. But his mother had made his scarf, and Chouji loved it almost more than anything. It kept him warm on cold and rainy and snowy nights, and it was as much a part of who he was as anything. It symbolized that he had something to stand for and protect—and it also symbolized that he was loved and protected in return.

That was why he was making one for Shikamaru. Because Shikamaru had certainly "died" protecting those he loved.

The needles gave a final clack as they halted, falling a little to rest in his lap as he remembered.

_…the mission was long since over. The weary team trudged back to Konoha, tired, wet, and more than ready to report and get home._

_Lightning struck overhead; Chouji had a second to glance up before the tree branch split off and fell, knocking him into the river. The world went silent and dark as he blacked out._

_When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed, back in Konoha. Ino was sitting by his bed, and gave him a smile that looked oddly forced._

"_Glad to see you're awake."_

"_Huh," said Chouji, "What happened?"_

_Her eyes clouded for a moment. "Shikamaru dove in to bring you back."_

_Chouji's eyes widened in half-panic as he sat bolt upright. "Is he alright? Where is he?"_

_Ino looked away._

Well, now that Shikamaru was alive, he deserved to have someone protect _him_ for a change.

Chouji resumed knitting with a passion.


	12. Where You Belong

**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away :_

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Where You Belong  
_Home should never make you uneasy.  
_These Memories; Part XII

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Had they stopped moving? 

No, they were still going. He closed his eyes again; the sight of trees blurring past was too much for him. Somebody was carrying him on their back. He wanted to protest that he was fine, he could walk, but he wasn't quite sure his legs would hold him if he tried. The pit had been too small to move in; how long had he been down there? Probably forever.

The type of movement changed. Now he cracked his eyes open and saw instead of trees, buildings and blue skies and clouds. Were they moving along the rooftops? That was something new.

This place...seemed almost familiar. Had he been here before? He fidgeted a little, wanting them to stop so he could see if he knew this place. "Nnngh.."

"Hang on, kid." The man who was carrying him had a rough voice, but there was an undertone of kindness beneath it. "We're back in Konoha now, you'll be at the hospital in no time."

Konoha. The name didn't ring any bells. "...where?"

"The hospital, kid. You're practically home."

_Home...maybe I did have one somewhere else after all. _He closed his eyes again. If this was home, shouldn't something look familiar? Shouldn't he remember this man who was carrying him? Shouldn't the mention of the word "hospital" make him feel safe instead of worried?

He didn't remember any of this. What if none of them remembered him?

The man spoke again. "Relax. You're back where you belong, kid. Everything's gonna be just fine."

Somehow that was enough for him to slip back into a light sleep.


	13. I Will Not Stop

Yesterday's updatemissed due to confining parents. Gomen!

**The Thief Kuronue: **I'm so glad you found it, then:)

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

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I Will Not Stop  
_Reunions can be tough, especially when he doesn't remember you.  
_These Memories; Part XIII

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Shikamaru had returned late yesterday afternoon. Chouji had been sitting in the hospital at his bedside all throughout the night. 

His friend was hooked up to what had to be twenty different machines, two monitoring his heart and breathing, at least three pumping different liquids into him, and—well, that was about it, but it was a bit unnerving.

That, and he was so _thin_! He thought Ino'd been thin after her last diet, but this—this was almost inhumane! And there were several scrapes and bruises on his face, bandages wrapped about his head and neck, and hands, and…Chouji repressed a shudder. What had happened to him?

There was a slight groan from the bed; Shikamaru's eyes twitched before opening, slowly, to blink up at the ceiling for a moment until he noticed Chouji, and he turned his head on the pillow to face him.

"Hey," said Chouji, smiling a little bit.

"Hey," said Shikamaru. Even his voice sounded tired. "I...hate to ask this, but...who are you?"

Chouji's heart froze. Surely Shikamaru hadn't just said that. "Chouji."

"Chouji..." Shikamaru rolled the name about in his head for a moment. "...sorry, I don't remember."

_Don't remember? _This wasn't right. His heart sank like a stone to his feet. "Akimichi Chouji! I'm your best friend!"

Shikamaru closed his eyes in the way Chouji remembered him fending off something annoying. "Sorry."

Chouji thought he was going to cry.

_I won't stop. He's got to remember _something

"Who are _you_?" he dared to ask. _Please, please. "Nara Shikamaru." Let him say that._

Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh and opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling.

"I don't know. They called me Number Twenty-Eight."

That time, Chouji really did cry.


	14. Because This Is Who I Am

**Ninie-san: **Thank you! And thanks so much for reviewing; it really means a lot to me. ;)  
**Yuki KIKI: **Short reviews are still reviews! ((glomps)) I think I love you for reviewing so much.  
**Krylancelo: **Thanks so much for taking the time to review! I'm so glad you enjoy it!

**

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

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Because This Is Who I Am  
_Nothing is more painful than remembering who you are.  
_These Memories; Part XIV

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"And you don't remember how you got these?" The woman indicated his neck and the bruises again. 

He scowled. "If I did, I would have told you."

"Hmm." She frowned. "What do you remember?"

He spared a glance for the boy he knew to be Chouji. There were still tear trails lingering on Chouji's face, and because he felt guilty for causing them, he tried to remember something again, however useless he knew it to be.

Nothing came except the expected headache, so he shook his head. "Nothing."

"Are you sure?" The black-haired woman touched two light fingers to his forehead. "Close your eyes and try again."

He did.

There was an amazing flash of pain; his eyes flew open in panic, but instead of seeing the room, he saw images, scraps of scenes and things he hadn't remembered before.

The falling branch—being swept downriver and finally hitting his head against a rock and the men who'd found him and taken his jacket and the girl who'd died after two days and walking in the streets and seeing Chouji and the lightning that had danced laughing over his face—

"_Gyaaah!"_

Caught in a haze of memories, he didn't feel the tell-tale throbbing behind his ear again or the blue sparks snapping across his face. Dimly, he heard someone yell to "go get Tsunade-sama!" before those fingers touched his face again. Instead of reversing the effects, the electricity only worsened as what had to be memories flashed by faster in a whirlwind of sound and color, stripping him of who he wasn't and showing him who was all in something too fast to comprehend.

Shikamaru blacked out.


	15. Maybe In Time

**Musical Misfit: **I'm so happy! Thank you for giving this a chance!

Second-to-last chapter, people...we're wiiiiiiiinding doooooown...

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**These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness**

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

* * *

Maybe In Time  
_Relief is a wonderful thing.  
_These Memories; Part XV

* * *

Chouji ate furiously. 

He sat on the hard benches outside the ICU, waiting for news. Shikamaru was in there with Tsunade and a bunch of other nurses. He hoped he was alright.

He hadn't _looked_ alright. Shizune had simply touched him, and then it was a repeat of two weeks ago, with sparks dancing across Shikamaru's head, and the blood pouring from behind his ear and the same pain-filled yell before he'd fainted. Chouji, not knowing what to do, had run for Tsunade. And now Shikamaru was in ICU.

Chouji wasn't alone in waiting. Shikamaru's mom and dad sat on the benches opposite him; a messenger bird had told them the news and they'd come at once. Ino sat next to Chouji, trying to look patient but failing miserably. Kiba and Lee had dropped by earlier and chosen to stay at the worried sight before them.

Chouji dug faster into his chip bag, chomping ferociously. Shikamaru would be alright. He _had_ to be.

The red light on the ICU blinked off. All eyes turned to the double doors as Tsunade emerged, exhaling a little sigh before smiling at them.

"He's going to be fine."

There was a massive sigh of relief.

Tsunade showed them a piece of burnt metal she held in her hand. "Apparently it wasn't amnesia after all. This was restraining his memories; every time he tried to remember something, it would give him a massive headache, or depending on what he did with those memories, electrocute him until he stopped or passed out. No wonder he didn't know his own name."

"So he's okay?" Ino asked anxiously.

Tsunade nodded. "We're moving him back upstairs. He'll need time to rest, and a lot of recuperation before he's back to his original stamina, but you should have your old Shikamaru back when he wakes up in a few hours."

Another sigh of relief. Chouji smiled through a mouthful of chips.

Everything was going to be alright now.


	16. These Memories Will Fade Away

**Niana Kuonji: **I re-uploaded them for you. Let me know if you still can't read them and I'll email them to you intsead. :)  
**The Thief Kuronue: **LONG LIVE MINOR CHARACTERS! YEAH! Why should the main charries have all the fun:D

Last chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to review and everyone who took the time to read it. Thanks to the Hit Counters (which I luuuurve), I know that's a bunch of you shy/busy peoples, and I love you anyway.  
Uber-thanks to: **Saico, shadowcat241, Happiness's Deceit, Yuki KIKI**(the most constant reviewer ever and the first to put this on a faves list. I LOVE YOU! ((glomps)) ), **Kawaii Kitsune Cub, bakusensei, utoto, MommyRogers **(who is also awesome for putting this on her alerts list), **The Thief Kuronue **(who stalks me everywhere, I swear. ;) ), **Ninie-san, Krylancelo, Musical Misfit, Niana Kuonji, Blue-fire310 **(alert-list, awesome)**, Yarochisai **(faves list, I love you!)**, Tenshi-Tara **(who owns the C2 that is a gift from heaven, I swear)and my faithful partner **Arashi-chan**. I love you guys!**

* * *

**

These Memories:  
A Series About Friendship and Forgetfulness

_: Before all things / I had a name / I think it left me long ago / Why can't I remember / Today I have another chance / to step out / I will not rest / until I know / what it all means / I will not give in / until I have you back / where you belong / I will not stop / because this is who I am / Maybe in time / these memories will fade away : _

* * *

These Memories Will Fade Away  
_Memories are the hardest things to let go of.  
_These Memories; Part XVI

* * *

"You're thinner than Ino when she went on her last diet," Chouji teased, poking Shikamaru's all-too-visible ribs good-naturedly. Shikamaru grunted a little and batted his hand away. Undaunted, Chouji waved his bag of chips in front of Shikamaru's face. "We'll just have to fatten you up, then!" 

Shikamaru made a face and pushed the chips away. "I think I've had enough food in the past three days to last a lifetime, thank you. You're not the only one who thinks I'm skinny as a twig."

"That's because you are," Chouji replied patiently. Being thin was unnatural. Seeing Shikamaru wince slightly, he asked,"Is your head bothering you again?"

"Yeah." Tsunade'd said it'd be a few weeks before his mind adjusted to all the rapid changes, and the headaches should stop around then. He sighed, absently bringing a hand up to rub behind his ear where the piece of restraining metal had been.

"Don't do that," Chouji said, and pulled his hand away. "You'll start bleeding again."

"Mm." Shikamaru let his hand fall and closed his eyes. It wasn't worth it.

Shikamaru's head was on Chouji's stomach because Akimichis made good pillows, and Chouji absently began massaging his friend's forehead with gentle fingertips, smiling to himself when the slight pain-crease between Shikamaru's eyebrows eased.

"Don't stop," Shikamaru said drowsily.

Chouji chuckled. "Feel good?"

"Mm," said Shikamaru, in his vague noncommital way. Chouji knew from the way his breathing evened out that he'd fallen asleep, and gradually switched from massaging to simply stroking that tired head. He leaned back against the tree trunk and stared up at the light filtering through green leaves.

He still didn't know what Shikamaru'd been through. Not even Tsunade knew yet; she'd judged it better to wait until his returned memories had settled before bringing up the delicate questions of what had happened to him. Personally, Chouji would rather Shikamaru never had to tell, that those memories just sort of faded away and were never brought up again. Somehow, though, he knew that could never be. Nara Shikamaru was still a ninja of the Leaf—and he still had to report like one.

But neither of them had to worry about that right now, Chouji decided, and closed his eyes.

After all, tomorrow was another day.


End file.
